​Guide dogs, are assistance dogs trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles. Although dogs can be trained to navigate various obstacles, Any dog can be a guide dog if properly trained. But for good reasons, people prefer to have large dogs as guide dogs over much smaller dogs because they represent more dominance over smaller dogs. In order for dogs to become guide dogs they have to go through a series of basic dog training to understand basic dog commands before advancing to being a good guide dog. A guide dog will have to understand dog commands such as STOP, COME, STAY, GO etc. Commands the visually impaired person will need to say from time to time to their guide dog. . Guide dogs are normally trained from the puppy stage into adulthood. Trainers usually receives the pups at about 8 weeks of age and return them to the guide dog center at around 14 months for formal training. Typically the actual working part of a dogs training takes between 3 and 9 months - after the puppy stage and "being a good pet" training is finished

How Does the Guide dog know where to go?

Well, guide dogs are trained specifically for movement. There are a set of commands and visual reactions these dogs will recognize. A good example is a blind person crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing. The dog can be trained to look at both signals when crossing the pedestrian. The guide dog will know when to move or when to stay.
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Guide dogs are trained to recognize doors, chairs, and tables for seating. They will know when to find the hotel door or the reception desk at a hotel or even an empty seating at a coffee shop. It is expensive to purchase or rent a guide dog because of the intelligent and extensive training these dogs have gone through to help the visually impaired.

Intensive Obstacle Course Training
Guide dogs will go through several weeks of manoeuvre through obstacles. This is very important as these dogs will use this very same skill to guide the blind. Cones are set up and the dog is guided by the trainer with various commands to go from point A to point B without hitting or touching the obstacles.

How the Guide Dog knows Where to Go
It is not left solely up to the guide dog to traverse the streets. Both guide dog and the guided will need to work together to make traversing much easier. Guide dogs are trained to walk in a straight direction without turning. The will manoeuvre obstacles such as people, benches etc. to lead. The guide dog owner may know for example that the coffee shop is three blocks down the road at the second right turn. The guided should reinforce this route in the guide guides head by probably saying, Coffee Shop to the dog each time the dog visits the area. This will allow the animal to develop a natural GPS of where the owner wishes to go each time he says coffee shop to the dog. Likewise, allow the dog to reinforce the word home so the dog clearly knows where to go whenever the word home is mentioned.

The most popular breed of dogs used as guide dogs are the Labrador Retriever. Other dogs used are Golden retrievers, German shepherds, Boxers and Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Mix breeds of Golden and Labrador Retrievers are also favorable. These dogs are chosen for their calm temperament, intelligence and their ease of training. They also make great companion and family dogs.